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 Bringing together a special combination of challenging design, wonderful scenery, impeccable conditions and friendly service, Arrowhead Country Club has enjoyed a Decade of Distinction in the heart of Myrtle Beach’s Grand Strand.
The only Raymon Floyd Signature course in Myrtle Beach, Arrowhead offers 27 holes of breathtaking golf along the beautiful shores of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Conveniently located near the convergence of U.S. 501 and Highway 17, Arrowhead, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, has quickly ascended the list of Myrtle Beach’s finest courses and in the process has become a favorite of Grand Strand visitors seeking a firm but fair test of golf.
Divided into three equally distinguished nines – The Waterway, The Cypress and The Lakes – Arrowhead offers a little something for everyone. There are long, daunting par-5s, short, enticing par-4s and a host of par-3s that require a wide array of shots depending on your tee of choice.
While each nine-hole layout builds its own style and challenge, each offer golfers memorable views, including vistas of the Intracoastal, and a host of challenges that generally include plenty of water, strategic bunkering and green complexes that must rank among the most beguiling on the Grand Strand.
A collaboration of Floyd and Tom Jackson, Arrowhead opened to rave reviews in 1994 and has continued to grow its reputation in the decade since. In fact, Arrowhead was named the South Carolina Golf Course of the Year in 1998 by the Carolinas PGA.
Somewhat uncommon to the South Carolina Lowcountry, Arrowhead features bent grass greens, which require less water than the Bermuda typically found in the south. Because of this, Arrowhead can keep their greens running fast and smooth, challenging golfers to combine the right mix of touch and aggressiveness throughout the round.
For its part, The Lakes showcases the beauty and elegance of inland South Carolina with its majestic Carolina hardwoods framing rolling fairways and its beautiful landscaping. True to its name, however, The Lakes features water on all nine holes that will test the accuracy and nerves of even the finest golfer.
Following a relatively gentle start to the nine, The Lakes quickly turns up the heat with the 556-yard par-5 third. While demanding off the tee, the second shot is the real key on this hole, as the fairway tightens and water runs the entire left side of the hole. A successful layout will leave only a wedge into an average-sized green guarded by six bunkers.
From long and challenging to short and enticing, the 363-yard fourth hole may appear a pushover, but can easily sneak up on the overly-aggressive golfer. A sharp dogleg left, even average hitters can drive through the fairway with poor club selection. A solid three wood just past the dogleg, however, and a strong birdie opportunity emerges with a short approach to a relatively open green.
What The Lakes might lack in difficulty at the open, it more than makes up for in the closing three holes, which rank among the top five toughest holes on the nine. The challenge begins with the 411-yard seventh hole, which demands one of the toughest tee shots of the day. With water looming on the left down the entire length of this dogleg left, golfers must find a slim fairway to the right and must continue to favor the right side on the approach to avoid water and two deep bunkers that protect the left side of the green.
The 521-yard par-5 finishing hole is a risk/reward classic. The second toughest hole on The Lakes, this monster entices long hitters to take on the water that looms on the left side of the hole to allow for a reachable second shot to a green guarded by water and bunkers. The safer golfers among us will play two shots safely to the right side before attacking the green with a pitching wedge.
Named for the stunning views it provides of the Intracoastal Waterway, The Waterway is much more than a visual pleasure. Perhaps the most diverse of the three nines, The Waterway is the youngest of the trio, opening in November 1995.
Like its predecessors, The Waterway offers plenty of memorable golf holes, beginning with the relatively short, but challenging par-4 second. Another risk reward hole, golfers must decide how much of this dogleg right to take on off the tee, as water looms right and fairway quickly runs out on the left. The smart play here is 3-wood to the fairway center that will leave only 100 or so yards to a generally open green. Perhaps one of the most scenic par-3s on the course, the 175-yard third hole features a peninsula green that is surrounded front and back by deep bunkers. Club selection on this water-rich hole is as important as the swing.
It seems every course has one or two holes that stand out in memory, and at Arrowhead one of those is the fourth hole on Waterway. Largely considered Arrowhead’s signature hole, the 387-yard par-4 runs parallel to the Intracoastal Waterway but features one of the widest fairways on the nine. Even from the fairway, the approach shot is among the most difficult on the course as the rather large green is guarded by four deep bunkers and water both left and right.
Like The Lakes, The Waterway saves its toughest holes for last, as the seventh, eighth and ninth are all among the four toughest on the nine. The toughest among the trio is the 410-yard seventh hole, which features a sharp dogleg left. Although without a single bunker on any side, the two-tiered seventh green can be among the toughest to hit. Land your approach on the wrong tier, and not even a three-putt is a sure thing on the seventh.
Following the scenic par-4 eighth, The Waterway closes with perhaps the easiest and most enticing par-5 at Arrowhead. Very reachable in two, the 486-yard ninth features a slight dogleg that aggressive hitters will attempt to cut to allow for a 180- to 200-yard approach. Whether approaching the green on the second or third shot, pay attention to pin placement as this green is the largest on the course, stretching to more than 100 yards from front to back. A birdie, or even eagle, on this great par-5 would be the perfect cap to the round or springboard into the next nine.
The Cypress, which earned its name from a large cypress tree that resides on the par-5 second, is perhaps the most challenging nine at Arrowhead. The nine features significantly mounded fairways lined by soaring Carolina pine trees, and, like its sister nines, offers plenty of water hazards and bunkers on nearly every hole.
Unlike The Lakes and The Waterway, The Cypress doesn’t allow golfers to ease into the nine. In fact, the three opening holes, highlighted by the aforementioned 571-yard second hole, rank among the four toughest on the nine. The second, features water down the entire left hand side of the hole and requires an approach shot over water to small, greatly sloping green.
At 205 yards, the third hole is the longest and toughest par-3 at Arrowhead, and requires a full carry over water to a green that runs sharply from back to front toward the water.
After offering a visually stunning reprieve with the fourth and fifth holes, a pair of short par-4s, The Cypress again shows its teeth with the spectacular seventh and eighth holes. The highlight here is the par-5 eighth, which continues Arrowhead’s impressive collection of five-pars. The second shot on this beauty is the key, as golfers must carry water and avoid more on the right to set up a short wedge to a large green that slopes from back to front.
Though its history is much shorter than its list of accolades, Arrowhead Country Club has firmly established itself as a leader among Myrtle Beach golf courses, and that’s more than enough to call its first decade on the Grand Strand one of Distinction.
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